A founder may have the experience to solve several problems and the ability to serve several markets, but can buyers quickly determine which problem the business solves for them? If not, that range becomes a source of confusion instead of commercial advantage.

Strategic ideas architect Deevo Tindall helps entrepreneurs, executives, and creators turn fragmented ideas into clear strategies, compelling narratives, and viable ventures. His work begins with identity and clarity, but the commercial test comes when the founder has to communicate that value to a specific audience.

A broad range of expertise can feel like a strength from inside the business with the founder being able to see how every service, skill, and idea connects. Buyers don’t have that context and they have to work out what the business does, whether it’s meant for them, and why they should care.

Deevo believes messaging determines whether they can make that connection.

Everything else gets lost in translation. It is the message that matters the most, because that’s what’s going to be received by the person who you want it to be received by.

With that in mind, Deevo suggests that the business is best served by first identifying the one part of the skillset that matters most to the buyer. That way, the audience can see exactly how a business will bring value.

Deevo uses Melissa’s description of herself as a Swiss Army knife to illustrate the risk. A buyer may recognize that the person is capable without understanding which capability they should purchase.

But if nobody knows what you’re doing, they’re just going to say, hey, she’s a Swiss Army knife. I’m not really sure.

Clear messaging means that founders don’t need to discard the experience, interests, or capabilities that make them valuable, but they do need to translate that range into a specific promise for a specific buyer. The message must show who the business serves, what problem it solves, and what changes for the customer as a result.

When leaders understand their audience and positioning, they can choose the markets, partnerships, and conversations most likely to place the offer in front of the right buyers. Without that focus, they risk spending time and resources reaching people who aren’t a good fit for what the business offers.

Choose one message your business currently puts in front of prospective customers, such as the opening statement on your website, a sales introduction, or a company profile. Show it to someone from the intended market and ask them three questions:

• Who is this for?
• What problem does it solve?
• What result would the buyer receive?

If their answers don’t match yours, the message is asking the buyer to do work the business should have done before publishing it.

Melissa’s Take

When I started this podcast, I was trying to say too much at once. I wanted people to know I understood cybersecurity, gaming compliance, leadership, engineering. I could see how all of it connected because I’d lived it. The audience couldn’t.

What changed the response wasn’t adding more credentials. It was the opposite: I started talking about my life and the person behind the professional profile, not just the résumé. That’s when the audience grew.

The lesson isn’t “be authentic” in the vague sense everyone uses. It’s narrower than that. Saying everything you are is not the same as saying the thing that helps someone understand what you do for them.

My gateway action: take the feedback from the three questions above and revise the first point where your message goes unclear. When the person you asked answers, don’t jump in to clarify. Let them stay vague. That vagueness is pointing at exactly the gap your messaging needs to close.

This is part of a fuller conversation with Deevo Tindall about the hidden constraints that can prevent founders from acting on strong ideas, the relationship between identity and business strategy, why curiosity and humility matter in leadership, how to assess feedback, and the foundation required before turning an idea into a business.

The Full Executive Brief goes deeper into every conversation on the podcast, with the context and the follow-up you won’t get from the audio alone. Subscribers also get access to the Maverick Test, a short diagnostic built to show you where your own leadership has gaps you haven’t named yet.